WordWolf

Final Fantasy.

Some home video games are more famous than others, and some video game companies are more famous than others. In the 1980s, a new video game company was teetering on the brink of non-existence. They did a "Hail Mary" pass, where they worked on one game-an early RPG- and if it tanked, the company was probably going to fold, and a man who later became known for video game soundtrack composing would have left that field. They titled the video game accordingly. Sales for the game took off, and catapulted the company into the spotlight. They made many other home video games afterwards, including a number of my favorite RPGs , for a number of home console formats and PCs. Among the video games they made was a considerable number that would appear to be sequels- despite most of them having no connection to the games numbered before them nor after them. That series is incredibly famous among home video games, and well-known across different platforms. (Fans of the "series" all have their own favorites, and may not be interested in many of the others in the "series.") The names are excellent marketing despite that- although an argument can be made that virtually all of them have titles that make no sense- except for the original. They're still making these games, and one was released in 2023 and another in 2024. (For the curious, the original company is still making them- although they had a merger with Enix in the decades since they started, and that's obvious from the current name of the company.) I'm looking for the name of the first game, the one that started the franchise, that saved the fledgling company, that is famous despite most of the people who've heard of it never having played it or possibly even SEEN it.

The home version they released was in 1975. You are correct that it doesn't meet the requirements of the answer. But you've probably heard this game's name in the decades since it was released.

"Hi, HO! Hi, HO! Hi, ho, hi, ho, it's off to work we go."

Wild swing here.... "An Officer and A Gentleman"?????

Jon Stewart Elijah Wood Louis Black Danny Masterson Summer Phoenix Usher Bebe Neuwirth Piper Laurie Famke Janssen Salma Hayek Josh Hartnett Clea DuVall Jordana Brewster

"Well, I'd rather see you dead, little girl, than to be with another man."

"War of the Worlds."

Of course! Your turn, George!

"Fool on the Hill," the Beatles.

Next round. This is a game show that lasted for several seasons, on different channels, and even spawned a video game based on gameplay. The actual gameplay was pretty straightforward, but a lot of the show's success was based not on the gameplay, but on STYLE. The gameplay for an entire episode could be over in less than 5 minutes, but we padded it out with responses from the audience, with feedback from family members there to support the player, and with the show's unseen antagonist occasionally doing something unexpected in the game area. In at least a few episodes, we saw the show's antagonist very clearly and got to hear them. That was because they got permission to exchange the antagonist for DARTH VADER, and there's no reason to include him if you can't see or hear him. The rest of the show's cast also got a wardrobe change for those episodes, as well (all 26 of them), although the host kept his suits.

"The spice must flow."

"I'll be in my bedroom, making no noise and pretending I don't exist." "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." "Mischief managed." "My eyes aren't 'glistening with the ghosts of my past!' " "Be brave, Professor. Be brave like my mother ... Otherwise, you disgrace her. Otherwise, she died for nothing. Otherwise, the bowl will remain empty ... forever."

Jon Stewart Elijah Wood Louis Black Danny Masterson Summer Phoenix Usher Bebe Neuwirth Piper Laurie Famke Janssen Salma Hayek Josh Hartnett Clea DuVall

"Now do you think you can beat The Champ?" "I can take him blindfolded." "What if he's not blindfolded?" "I can still beat him." "I'd just come from the stockyards. We'd gotten reports of hundreds of cows had been senselessly slaughtered in the area, but I couldn't find any evidence. I stopped off for a hamburger and checked in with headquarters." "Who are you and how did you get in here?" "I'm a locksmith. And, I'm a locksmith."

Well, neither Desi Arnaz nor Ricky Ricardo were connected with either of those shows. Nowadays, it's actually easy to see episodes of "the Lucy Show". A few channels air them, and they're available as video on demand.

Now I can identify it. The character was Hans Gruber, the movie was "DIE HARD."

"I'll be in my bedroom, making no noise and pretending I don't exist."

Normally, that would have helped a lot. Ironically, this time I got to it last because I tried to catch up, and started from the oldest threads, so bumping it moved it up and delayed my response. Funny how that happens sometimes. I have an idea this time, hang on.....

Jon Stewart Elijah Wood Louis Black Danny Masterson Summer Phoenix Usher

Ricky Ricardo to his wife. He Loved Lucy. That was on "I Love Lucy."

(A) WKRP in CIncinatti. (B) Lachey's Raising the Bar, aka Lachey's Bar. Starring Nick Lachey, former member of 98 Degrees, and former husband of Jessica Simpson. Taking the Stage, set in the School for the Creative and Performing Arts. (C) Police Women of Cincinnati. (D) Harry's Law, starrying Kathy Bates as Harriet "Harry" Korn. The city has the Cincinnati Reds, the Cincinnati Bengals, FC Cincinnati, and the Cincinnati Sirens, which competes in United Womens Soccer if not the NWSL. There's talk of an NWSL team that hasn't been formed yet.

It's not Portlandia or Portland (neither Oregon nor Maine.) It is a FAMOUS sitcom.

OK, I can identify ALL the clues, and name all the shows, but I had to do research to do it. For the record, I knew the first show, but none of the others in this round before I did any research. Acceptable to post the answers?

"Put on your red shoes and dance the blues."